CRESSONA - The return of a Goodwill Store and Donation Center in Schuylkill County will occur Thursday with the grand opening of a new store at the Cressona Mall.
And while the most visible part of the Goodwill operation to the public will be the 5,500-square-foot store, the mall location will be the center of all Goodwill services in the county.
The store, part of the Goodwill Keystone Area, will celebrate the grand opening from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the store remaining open until 9 p.m. Goodwill will also have a prize wheel and its mascot, Good Dog, at the grand opening. The first 50 customers on Thursday will receive a prize.
Regular store hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The store is brightly lit and arranged to make shopping as simple as possible, including four fitting rooms, two large enough to easily accommodate wheelchairs. The store is located in the former CVS Pharmacy.
"It's the model and vision for the future - a retail store, a cartridge business and a mission," Emily Walker, Keystone Area marketing coordinator, said. "This location is cutting edge because it goes beyond a store."
"This facility is the first that we co-located with a store," Laura Mealia, director of services, said. "The offices were in Pottsville and we were kind of standalone. We used to have a store in Shenandoah, and we also had a store here. Since the Shenandoah store closed about eight years ago, there hasn't been a store in Schuylkill County. I've been working with Goodwill in the country for 23 years at different offices."
Mealia is the director of mission services for the Keystone Area's Northwestern Region, which includes 12 counties. The Keystone Area includes 22 counties.
"Mission services help people with disabilities to get a job and gain job skills," Walker said. "We'll have a staff person here that oversees the mission services in this region. This past year, more than 3,200 people received life-changing services from Goodwill throughout our 22 counties."
Mealia said that stores provide a major source of funding for Goodwill programs and services.
"The idea of co-locating the different operations so we work as a team is a first here," Mealia said.
"This is the first location that has a mission service presence, that has a business service presence and a retail location all in one," Walker said. "We're hoping for the future to develop more locations like this one."
In addition to the store and donation center, Walker said that the Cressona Mall location includes:
- Goodwill's mission services: Provides a variety of programs and services to people with disabilities, with a staff to oversee many of these programs. Walker said 3,265 people received life-changing services from Goodwill Keystone Area.
"Goodwill's mission is to support persons with disabilities and other barriers to independence in achieving their fullest potential as workers and members of the broader community," Walker said.
- Goodwill cartridge service: One of four business services operated by Goodwill Keystone Area, the services aid in funding Goodwill programs and services. Each cartridge is remanufactured by a trained technician and tested for quality and is backed by a 100 percent guarantee.
Mealia said the cartridge service, which refills and refurbishes laser printer toner cartridges, was located in Pottsville at a site where there were inconveniences in operating the business. The cartridge service manager is Kristy Carduff.
"We probably move on average about 1,000 cartridges a month for sale," Mealia said. "We recycle all of the empty cartridges for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We have a contract with the commonwealth that they buy the remanufactured cartridges and all of the empties come back to Schuylkill County."
Store manager Margaret Gradwell said it has been about a month in getting the store prepared for opening.
"We started here on January 6, and we've been working Mondays through Fridays," said Gradwell, adding there are 14 employees at the store.
Donations of clothing and other items can be dropped off during store hours. The store's number is 570-385-8261.
"Our donations run our store," Walker said. "Without donations, we wouldn't exist. People buy the clothes and other items and the money goes to support our mission. We do value our customers."
Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of programs and services to people with disabilities. Goodwill supports persons with disabilities and other barriers to independence in achieving their fullest potential as workers and as members of the broader community. In support of the mission, Goodwill collects and sells donated items in 38 stores in the Keystone Area's 22 counties in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, which includes Schuylkill County.